Quiet Time

My friend and I have been walking again in the mornings. We did it a month or so ago and took a couple weeks off and now we're back at it. We walk from 6:45-7:15 before our husbands go to work. This week, my kids have slept in until 7:45 or even 8am. SO---I get home and go straight to my deck. It is BEAUTIFUL outside. And, I am NOT NOT NOT a morning person. But, this week I have loved it. I have done my devotions and prayed outside on the deck. I have just loved it. So, hopefully my kids will continue this pattern of sleeping in a bit later so I can enjoy my alone time in the morning before the day starts!!

This was my verse from my study today...
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is right,...think about these things. Phil 4:8 (This is paraphrased from memory). Basically, we are to THINK POSITIVE thoughts. Amazingly, I needed this verse today. So, I urge you to think only positive thoughts today and see how your day goes. **There were a few times today I needed to remind myself of this--but reminders are good. God does not expect us to be perfect!

So, here's to finding your own quiet time even if it's in the morning and you hate mornings, like me!

Paige's First Date

A girl's first DATE, should always be with her Daddy! And, luckily Paige can say her first dinner date was with her dad!

The boys had spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma and I had a baby shower to go to!
So, Date night it was.
Steve took her to Carlos O Kelly's. (I think he choose instead of letting the girl choose!! But, Paige does like cheese dip!)

I think Steve had a GREAT time with her! He said 3 different people/couples came over to their table, to comment on how CUTE Paige was. Steve said at the end of the night Paige was getting a little restless with sitting in the booth, so she started dancing a bit on her side of the booth. Again, the crowd around them, seemed to enjoy this!!

Paige--always remember your Daddy's LOVE for you! He is your first and always TRUE love!!

Hopefully there will be more dates in your future!


Obviously, all these pictures were taken after their date. But, here's daddy making Paige laugh. This is one things Steve is so good at---being silly with the kids and making them just CRACK UP!!

Father's Day

Last Sunday was Father's Day!! A day to honor our Father's! Steve and I have been married 9 years and parents for 6 1/2 years! Steve is a great dad. He makes the kids laugh, plays with them, lets them do things I wouldn't probably let them do, coaches sports, and more! Steve has been home this summer and the kids are really enjoying spending extra time with him.

I am usually gone 2 nights a week working, Premier Jewelry, so Steve takes over at home. Many times he will cook dinner those nights, take care of the kids and house all evening, and put the kids to bed. And, most nights--the house is clean when I get home----ahhhh, there's nothing like coming home to a clean house!!

So, here's Steve and the kids. We went to Shorty Small's after church and took this cute picture out front of the restaurant! (You never know when you might need your camera handy!!)

Happy Father's Day Steve!

Happy Father's day Dad and Larry!! We love you both!

Birthday FUN!

Birthday Traditions--- We try to have lots of traditions at our house, especially now that the kids are getting bigger and I feel like there is more we can do, more they will remember and even appreciate. I remember growing up we always got to choose where we wanted to eat on our birthday or what we wanted mom to make!!

Our tradition for birthday's is to basically have a SPECIAL, out of the ordinary, day!!

The day starts with a Birthday Banner being hung from the Birthday Person's door. This is the first time Paige has gotten it. It has circles hanging down from it. I hang it when they go to sleep so it's there when they wake on their birthday! This morning she came in our room, just smiling, and asked "Did you hang those circles on my door?" She didn't know it was a Birthday banner, but thought it was fun!!

Paige choose Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast! Funny huh. Steve asked her what she wanted for breakfast and that's what she requested. Then, he even asked her if she would rather go to McDonald's (which the kids LOVE)! And, she still choose B&G!!

Then, to Story Time at the Library!!

Steve went to Story Time today--Here's Paige sitting on his lap! She's wearing a Birthday Ribbon that she kept messing with and wanting off, then on, then off,

Then, to McDonald's for Happy Meals (lunch) and home to eat.

Next, Paige got her "big" present today from Mom and Dad.


Her FIRST bike. Or, her "big bike" as she calls it!!

Then, all 3 on their bikes- headed to the pool to swim!!

Now, here's trouble coming down the sidewalk---watch out!!

Swimming..... and then home for naps at 2pm! What a day already.

Up from naps for Dora Cupcakes (I wouldn't have bought these, but they were on clearance for $1.49---so I had to get them!) Tyler and Jaden loved them, but Paige wanted fruit snacks instead!! Go figure! Then, we threw away the other 4 in the pack! It was BRIGHT pink frosting that stained the boys hands and mouth and LOTS of frosting. yuck.

We turned on the sprinklers and let the kids play in the back-yard. Leah and Hallie came over too, for a bit.

Spaghetti for dinner with bread sticks.

Then, a bike ride on her new bike.

And, we finished the night watching High School Musical. (This is night 3 of watching it. We watched all of 1 and now we're half through 2. The kids all LOVE it!! I told them they can't watch it tomorrow night while I'm at a jewelry show, because I love it too! )

On a sad note: I think Paige has a urinary track infection. She says her bottom hurts when she goes to the bathroom and I finally, after 2 days, figured out she meant her "potty" not her bottom. She couldn't go to sleep because she was crying that it hurt, so she got to sleep with daddy on the couch down-stairs. He just put her in bed!! So, we'll go to the Dr. tomorrow. But, she had a FUN day!!

Hopefully she'll be feeling better by Saturday for her Family Birthday Party. Then, July 8 we go to Build a Bear for Jaden and Paige's birthday together!! It's pretty much a party here for the next month!!

Photo Shoot

The Birthday Girl!! Today, Paige turned 3!! WOW--and some of these pics make her look so grown up! I am usually the mom that WANTS her kids to grow up....but I am starting to think maybe I don't. We have had so much fun lately. I think the kids are getting older, more fun, just crack ups!!

A few days ago the boys were wearing hats so Paige went to her room and got her hat. It was just PRECIOUS CUTE! I took her out front on our porch to attempt to get a few pictures of her---and look what I got!!! I am so excited!

I know the hat is a bit "Fallish", but it's still cute! Aunt Amanda bought the hat for her last year--but her head is SO TINY, it is just now really fitting her--and maybe still a little big!

I love when pictures show a true emotion or face that is "normal". This is a face we often see!

WOW!!! So adorable. I can't believe she's only 3 here!!

Love the crossed arms!

So innocent! This might be my favorite picture.

Another smile/face we often see!! And, I love looking at the kids' little hands in pictures!

Her cheesy Grin!!

My Beautiful Birthday Girl! So Sweet!

I LOVE these Jelly shoes from Old Navy. Paige says they hurt her feet sometimes--I think they are actually fitting better now. (But, I just want to tell her---to look good sometimes our feet will hurt! Steve told me I can't tell her that!!)

And, then her buddy, Jaden (J-Man) saw what we were doing on the front porch and he wanted in on the action. I hope they ALWAYS love each other as much as they do right now. (I tried to get Tyler to come out---but he didn't want any part of it!!)

Happy Birthday Precious Paige. I hope you will grow up to be as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside! You are very caring--asking if I'm alright if I get hurt, you LOVE to play with Jaden, you love to play Mom and Dad with both your brothers, you love to read books, and you've just started playing Barbies! You love to dance and you are quite animated! You're silly, you have a little 3-year old attitude, you have the cutest laugh, your voice--not sure how to describe it, HIGH pitched, but cute (most of the time). You are Sassy and full of life and we love you dearly!! We are very THANKFUL we have you!!!!

Lemonade Stand

The kids' first Lemonade Stand....

Becky and I had a garage sale---so one of the days we let the kids have a Lemonade Stand.

Here's the gang....

I think, actually I know, more of the lemonade was drank or split, than was sold.

When a car pulled up to the house, the kids would ALL YELL, "LEMONADE, 25 CENTS. COME GET IT..." it was quite funny!!!

Notice the cup in Paige's hand....drinking the profits away...
I think each kid walked away with $1.30 or something like that. And, I am pretty sure most of that was money we gave them to start with. I think each dad bought a cup and then a couple of random people. There wasn't a lot of traffic the day they set up... and then, some people wouldn't buy from them. I guarantee I will ALWAYS buy from a kids' Lemonade Stand...from now on. I promise!!

A Skined up knee

These pictures were taken probably a week after all the accidents. I say all...because I think this is a collection of 2 or 3 falls off the bike to make this "masterpiece."

And, then of course, every time he falls doing anything, he hits the knee again and it scrapes it more and causes it to bleed.

Here you can the 5 individual scrapes. The picture doesn't even do justice to how gross it really was!

The knee is almost healed, although today at Music Camp he came home with a GIANT band aide on his knee, so it must have started bleeding again!!

With 2 boys---and rough and tumbly boys at that--I'm sure we'll be seeing many more knees like this.

Happy Summer!!

Bible school

Vacation Bible School was last week! Westlink Church starts Bible School at age 3, so I signed Jaden and Paige up! (This is where they go to Pre-school.) Paige was 2 weeks shy of being 3, so I literally had to talk them into taking her. Could you imagine if Jaden got to Bible school, but Paige did not. That would not work. So, they both got to go to VBS together for the first time. They were even in the same class. That's one advantage of having kids 11 months apart from each other--They have a friend close by!!

Aren't they simply adorable?!! This is on "stage" before they "performed"!!

This is what you get when you tell Paige to "Smile"!!

Look at those dimples! Precious cute!

Leah Wilkinson, Jaden, and Paige. The past few weeks, Jaden and Leah have really taken to each other. So much that they call each other "boyfriend" and "girlfriend". Leah just keeps saying, "Jaden's my boyfriend." And, it's so adorable the way she says it....then Jaden just grins.

Singing their songs was quite adorable. It was HOT!!!! (Just as the Grandmas) and they sang for about 3 minutes, after waiting for what seemed like forever. But, it was cute!!

Jaden did more of the actions and sang more than Paige, but Paige did do some. And, then Jaden would look out in the crowd and see me and just smile....like he was BIG STUFF!!! And, he is.

Jaden and Paige went from 9-noon all week. Tyler was at Sports Camp at his friend Megan's church. Hallie went with them too. Their camp was from 9:15 to 3:45. So, it was a full week taking and picking up and lots of FUN!!!

Last Day of School

Becky and I planned a LAST DAY OF SCHOOL party for our kids. (It was Becky's idea--she is full of creative, fun ideas to do!!) Surprises are very hard for me. But, we wanted to surprise the kids when they got off the bus the last day. Jaden, Paige, and I were at Wilkinson's house with the radio blarring (to the song, "It's Summer Time" from High School Musical). We had the Slip 'N Slide out and end of school presents!! And, then a picnic lunch. LOTS OF FUN!!!

Tyler and Hallie

Aren't they PRECIOUS!!! We hope they will ALWAYS be friends!! Maybe even get married??

Brothers--hanging out!

Paige and Leah--
They didn't SLIDE down .... but crawled...quite funny!

But, obviously they were having FUN, no matter how they got down the Slip 'N Slide!!

They had to take turns..

standing in line

And, the Gang! What FUN!!!

The party details:

Lunch: sandwiches and chips

Gifts: school workbook and pen (to get ready for Pre-school and 1st grade!)

Dessert: To Sonic for ice-cream cones

Fun in the Sun Day

Kindergartner's have FUN IN THE SUN day at the end of the year! Doesn't it look like Tyler is having fun in the SUN!! They could bring sunglasses and a towel to school this day.

Brendon, Tyler and Austin posing as Super-Heros. The towels became capes and it was my job to tie their towel around the necks, and re-tie them, and re-tie them, and re-tie them.....

Tyler and Megan in the SUN!!!

Steve took off work to go to the school with us to volunteer. He was the grill master. It was the WINDIEST day ever! Steve had his LITTLE tail-gating grill and cooked 100's of hot-dogs. (He cooked hot dogs for all the AM Kindergarten kids and then cooked for the PM kids as well and we put them in baggies for later!) He had to go to the corner of the building out of the wind, so he missed all the "fun"!!

Tyler and Hannah eating their hot dogs! And, of course talking...

Noah, Tyler and our first teacher....Ms. Williams!

The last day of Kindergarten. I took Tyler to school today so we could give Ms. Williams a hanging plant. One last picture with her. We will remember Ms. Williams for her jean skirts that she wore 4 out of the 5 days, her hair in a bum, and no make-up! We loved Ms. Williams. She was a great first teacher for Tyler!!

And, now on the first grade...

Our new toy

Grandpa Roth found this new 4-wheeler at a garage sale and fixed it for the kids. They were DELIGHTED!! I wasn't outside when he came, but I guess the boys were arguing over who was going to drive it first. During their "discussion", Paige hoped on the 4- wheeler herself!!

The only problem with the 4-wheeler is the cord to charge it, that came with it---is the wrong cord. So, it's now dead and we cannot charge it. I found the # for the company and I am going to call and see if we can order the plug-in....surely we can.


Notice Paige's "smile"! I should not TELL her to smile!
Yes, she can drive the 4-wheeler, it's so cute! And, here's Jaden---trying NOT to smile

Just cute pictures of Paige while we were outside.Marching down the side walk.